Obama, politicians dedicate Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Dorchester

Tuesday

Mar 31, 2015 at 2:00 AMMar 31, 2015 at 6:53 AM

By C. Ryan Barberrbarber@capecodonline.com

DORCHESTER — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren remembered the ally who agreed to lead the fight against a bankruptcy bill that she felt would benefit credit card companies and further squeeze struggling middle class families.

Their April 17, 1998, meeting was scheduled to take 15 minutes, but it lasted 90, and brought Warren, then a Harvard professor, to tears, she told the hundreds gathered at the University of Massachusetts Boston campus for the dedication Monday of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate.

"Senator Kennedy changed my life that day,” Warren said. "I hadn’t liked politics. All the lobbyists and cozy dealings and special favors for those who could buy access. But I stood in the lobby outside Ted Kennedy’s office and I felt clean.”

Vice President Joe Biden remembered Kennedy as a guide and tutor in Washington, who would come up with embarrassing ways to introduce the young Delaware Democrat to fellow lawmakers between the stalls and showers of the Senate gym's locker room.

Video tour of the EMK Institute in Dorchester

(To view on a mobile device click here)

President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John McCain, adversaries in the 2008 presidential election, remembered their mutual friend.

And on a chilly day in Boston, far away from the warmth of his home state, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said he now understood why the Kennedys all have so much hair.

"It's to keep their head warm," he said.

Six years after Kennedy died from brain cancer, many of the words spoken of him Monday could have been part of a eulogy. But in a ceremony that drew dignitaries from the president down to — as Obama joked — seemingly every elected official in Massachusetts, the words were intended to pay tribute to the late liberal lion and dedicate the institute bearing his name in the hope of inspiring generations to come.

Filled with anecdotes of the personal touch Kennedy brought to politics, the speeches emphasized bipartisanship, with both Republicans and Democrats implying or stating outright that Kennedy's across-the-aisle style has faded into a lost art.

Obama, speaking to the hundreds packed and shivering beneath a tent, said Kennedy reflected at the end of his life on how the Senate has changed. Today, the Senate's makeup more accurately reflects the country's diversity — "and that is a grand thing, a great achievement," Obama said.

"But Ted grieved the loss of camaraderie and collegiality, the face-to-face interaction. I think he regretted the arguments now made to cameras instead of colleagues, directed at a narrow base instead of the body politic as a whole," he said.

With the influence of money and outside groups, Obama said many Americans have turned away in disgust and chosen not to vote. A mere 18 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, according to a Gallup poll conducted earlier this month, and 75 percent disapprove.

"Since this is a joyous occasion, this is not the right time for me to suggest a slew of new ideas for reform, although I do have some," Obama said, drawing laughter from the crowd. "Maybe I'll just mention one: What if we carried ourselves more like Ted Kennedy? What if we worked to follow his example a little bit harder?"

That example, Obama said, is of a legislator willing to take risks and walk away from a negotiation with a "half loaf," ready to take criticism from supporters for getting some result rather than nothing.

Lott, speaking in a Southern drawl, assured the crowd that he and Kennedy disagreed and had fiery discussions. But they would compromise, he said, "to get results for America."

"Yes, a Republican from Missisippi," Lott said after his introduction, pausing for effect as the crowd erupted in laughter before continuing, "is proud to be here today."

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker reflected on an evening years ago when his daughter, 6 at the time, picked up the phone and said the caller was claiming to be Kennedy. In disbelief, the family bounced around ideas about the impersonator's identity. But sure enough, it was Kennedy on the line, wanting to thank Baker for agreeing to join the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy board.

The Cape was mentioned only in passing during the ceremony, with Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley being introduced as a spiritual guide who would visit Kennedy in times of sorrow and celebration at his Hyannisport home. The home is undergoing historic preservation work, but an institute spokesman said it is expected to host education seminars and forums organized by the institute in the "near future."

The $78 million institute, built next to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on Columbia Point, is anchored by a life-size replica of the U.S. Senate chamber, which was designed to allow visitors to debate and vote on legislation as though they were senators. The institute, which also features a replica of Kennedy's Washington office, opens today.

In some of the most heartfelt remarks of the day, McCain, R-Ariz., said Kennedy loved a good fight, telling the crowd Monday that he missed debating with his former colleague, whose love for the Senate was contagious.

"I miss my friend. I miss him a lot. He loved the place," McCain said about the Senate. "You could just tell."

— Follow C. Ryan Barber on Twitter: @cryanbarber

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